Podcast

Costa Rica is well-known as a haven for expat retirees, but what’s it like to move to this tropical paradise in Central America if you’re at not at that stage of life yet?

American Samantha moved to Costa Rica more than six years ago, for love. And she’s come a long way since first arriving with little knowledge of the country - needing to learn Spanish, find a job, make friends, understand how the local community - and systems - tick.

She’s come so far in fact, that she and her husband Yeison were even named Tourism Ambassadors for their work on their very successful Costa Rica travel blog, mytanfeet.com.
Samantha’s going to share her story of settling into life in Costa Rica, and how she navigated the integration bumps along the way.

In the latest episode of the Expat Focus podcast we’re talking about the way Brexit has altered the lives of EU citizens - including Brits - who have chosen to live in other member states.

Elena Remigi is one of them. As an Italian living in the UK, the years since the 2016 Brexit vote have been filled with uncertainty over whether she’ll be able to stay - or is even still welcome - in the country she calls home.

Elena founded a project called ‘In Limbo’. It started with a Facebook Group that she created for people to share their Brexit experiences. And these personal accounts from EU citizens in the UK were compiled for a book. That book - called ‘In Limbo’ was quickly followed by a second, entitled ‘In Limbo Too’ – which shares the stories of UK citizens living elsewhere in Europe.

As the political stoush over a Brexit agreement continues, and the 29th of March comes ever closer, In Limbo is a reminder for all of us, of just how deeply this issue is affecting people’s lives.

Welcome to another episode of the Expat Focus podcast. Today on the show we’re talking about a country where the expat population is slowly but steadily on the rise: Estonia.

My guest is Alina Akk from expatinestonia.com. She’s Romanian, and this is her third year living and working in Estonia. Alina’s going to give us the lowdown on three essentials: finding somewhere to live, learning Estonian, and finding a job in the country.

Welcome to another episode of the Expat Focus podcast. Our guest this week is Steve Spriggs - the Head of Education at William Clarence Education. They advise and consult with families from around the world on British schools and universities.

So which schools are right for your children, factoring in not just their interests and your needs as a family... but also where you all might be in five years' time? Listen on to find out, and if you have any questions for Steve, you can post them in the Expat Focus UK Forum or Facebook Group.

Moving abroad often means losing that ‘insider’ status that you held in your home country. The advantage of just ‘knowing’ how a system or local industry works, where to find the tools or resources you need to get something done.

Remco recognised this, and that his public workshop in Amsterdam could act as an entrance, not just for locals needing somewhere to knock up a coffee table or use specific machinery… but also for expat carpenters, designers, artists and D-I-Y enthusiasts.

The Openbare Werkplaats is providing foreigners in Amsterdam with an entry point - and community - that they may not otherwise find.

Welcome to another episode of the Expat Focus Podcast, I’m your host Carlie, and my guest today is a UK expat, based in beautiful South West France, where he runs a guest house along with his partner.
Their home is called Maison Mûrier, and on their website, Phill and Kev call it their ‘little bit of heaven’ in the French countryside.

Looking at the stunning photos, their acre-and-a-half property has a pool, incredible views over sunflower fields, their house has seven bedrooms and there are a number of barns on the land as well.

So how did they choose their dream French property? How was the renovation process and, what sort of qualities do you need to run a guest house in France? I spoke to Phill about his experiences, in November of 2018, at the end of his very first year as a host.

Visas can be an unwelcome, overwhelming necessity when you fall in love with someone from another country. This was the case for Australian Emma O’Neill-Sandham and her English partner Rich, when they decided they wanted to move from the UK to continue their life together back in Australia.

In this episode, Emma’s going to talk through the difficulty of needing to legally prove and define your love for a visa, and she’s also going to offer some advice to other couples looking to do the same thing.

If you’re a member of one of the Expat Focus forums or Facebook groups, or in any international community group for that matter, you’ve likely seen a discussion around the term ‘expat’ and how it’s used.

What makes one group of people ‘expats’, and another group ‘foreigners’, or ‘immigrants’? Why does the terminology matter, and how does it shape our views of different groups of people who move abroad?

Our guest today is Gabby, the co-founder of Milk Café – a social enterprise in Glasgow, Scotland. Milk aims to empower and support refugee and migrant women, whom they take on as volunteers.

But the café’s not just providing these women with an opportunity to gain new skills and experience; it’s also promoting greater community acceptance and understanding.

Is your dream to live, or continue living, in France? It is possible as a non-EU citizen, without needing to get married or become a student to make it happen.

American Allison Lounes lives in France. She runs the website Paris Unraveled, and she helps people to navigate French administration - like visa applications - in a way that’s much less stressful than going it alone.

Allison’s going to talk through the main options for non-Europeans; from getting PACSed to moving off a student visa, being sponsored by a company or going it alone as self-employed. And she’s going to explain what you need to put into your application to make your French dream a reality.